My Life on the Half Shell

I grew up in the restaurant world.  I was 11 years old when I got my first job was making toast and coffee in a restaurant called The Cape Ender in Truro, MA.  My older brother was the breakfast cook and he convinced the owner that the $2 an hour (in cash) i was paid was worth the investment.  Fast forward 20 years or so and I was the head chef at a small restaurant in Wellfleet called Aesop's Tables and, for no apparent reason, i gained some attention from the media and was mentioned in The Boston Globe and New York Times,; Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Traveler magazines, as well as in the local media.  

Despite my success, I left the business for a couple of reasons....I felt I had gotten as good as I was going to get in the food industry, I did not have the leadership or management skills needed to go along with my success,  and I was afraid I was going to begin to hate the thing that I have always loved...cooking.

Years later, with my daughter's birthday on the horizon, I asked her what she would like for her birthday, I asked her what she would like for a birthday present.  She answered simply, "A cookbook."  "Ok", i replied, "What cookbook?".  "Your cookbook." she said.  I didn't have a cookbook.   I had some scraps of recipes from my restaurant days but after i left the business I never cooked that way.  I worked by eye and taste without thinking about documenting anything.

This blog is my attempt to honor her request.